There's a Way
by Anya Maygo
Summary: Part 2 of 2!
1. A New Danger

**_A New Danger_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

It didn't take me long to get up. I was wobbling badly, though.

When morning arrived, Avatar directed me to an airport, where some kids were seeing each other off. They all seemed familiar…

"Hey, guys!" Avatar called from my hip.

They all turned around. I wasn't sure what to say. "Um…hi?"

"Will! Nice to see you up and about!" the boy with a blue headband waved at me. Then he suddenly looked nervous. "You…do remember me, right?"

I cocked my head and studied him. "Your name…" I touched my head carefully, "…is escaping me, but I remember your face."

He nodded. "I'm Lan."

_Lan. That fit right!_

Everyone else re-introduced themselves to me, and we got into Higsby's car to head back.

* * *

><p>While riding in the back of the car, I felt a frustration at hitting a slow spot in traffic. Then Higsby and Tory started arguing. I held my head between my hands and groaned.<p>

Avatar was frustrated, too. "Maybe I can come to the real world and _throw_ the car!"

Then Megaman said something about a virus, and something outside caused the ground to shake!

I was shocked when it came into sight: a gigantic Meto virus!

"Avatar, when you keep saying come to the real world, do you mean like _that_?"

"Uh…yeah."

"You going to do so now?"

"I think I'd better…and that I need to be out of the car."

That wasn't a problem. We all had to bail out of the car when the Meto virus blasted an attack down our street. The shock wave knocked us all down!

If it hadn't been so dangerous, it would have been funny how idiotic the thing looked.

Avatar screamed, and the light shot out of my PET and condensed into a ten-foot-tall navi! "That's still extremely hard without Rush."

"Rush?" That triggered a memory. "The little dog that could hop between the real world and the cyber world?"

"Yeah, a solo navi had taken his data apart to get to the real world himself, and I'd swiped a tiny bit of data so that I could follow him. It's hard."

The thing was following us! Then a limo pulled up in front of us, and a boy with mostly-white hair ordered us in! Lan called him Chaud.

We narrowly managed to escape, and I don't know where Avatar went. Somewhere safer than we were, I suppose.

Then a voice called from Chaud's waist. He looked at his PET. So did I. The figure standing in the screen triggered a lot of memories, all disconnected and frightening. _Protoman!_

We were basically told that we had to delay the guy so that a Dimensional Area could be set up around him. Lan, Chaud and I ran out of the limo when we found a suitable spot for such a trap. I held my PET to my ear like it was a phone. "Avatar? Can you hear me? …Does this even work?"

"Yes, it works. What's up?"

"We've got a plan for delaying and trapping that virus. Care to help?"

"Just say the word, Will!"

* * *

><p>The sing-songy way that the Meto virus was saying its name was like it was saying "Yoo-hoo…"<p>

_Still looking for us, are you? Well, you won't find us until we're ready!_

Lan and Chaud – excuse me, Megaman and Protoman – started playing with cranes and first banged the Meto on its helmet, and then succeeded in hooking the guy's helmet and lifting him off the ground!

"Me-me-me-me-me-tooo!" the big guy stuttered. I could almost hear him whining: "I don't wanna be off the ground!"

_Ah, but Lan and Chaud _wanted_ you off the ground!_ I thought evilly, grinning.

Then the Dimensional Area generators were in place, and the two cranes dropped the virus.

_He won't be getting up quickly from that._

The sky went all flashy. Then Lan and Chaud fused with their navis!

Avatar leaped up to join us around then. "I figured I'd see that eventually."

"What is this?" I asked, feeling stunned.

"Cross-Fusion. Cool, isn't it? Give me some battle chips."

* * *

><p>The three fought the Meto virus, and actually deleted it! Then the Dimensional Area went down and the Cross-Fusions came undone.<p>

But something was wrong: Megaman was missing!

Protoman went to search the net for Megaman. Then Lan's PET got a map for where Megaman was!

When we got to the place – Avatar carried me, because I was tired from all the running I'd had to do before – we found a creepy old guy with a can-collecting machine. He seemed to know Lan and Chaud. He knew my name, too, and Avatar's, and he knew I had amnesia.

"Should I recognize you?" I asked.

"With your amnesia, probably not." Then he introduced himself as Doctor Wily. That meant nothing to me. He explained something of what happened some time ago. He mentioned Duo, and told us that it was a planet-destroying net navi bent on destroying Earth after fifteen years!

Protoman told us that he'd found Megaman's signal, Wily gave us a juice can telling Lan to give the thing to Doctor Hikari, and we all started running again.

Avatar suddenly used her hair to drag me onto her back. "Hang on, Will!" Then she grabbed each boy up under her arms and started running faster than they could.

I could seriously feel the time limit right now.

Well, we got there in time to save Megaman and Protoman both!

The culprit was Bass, and he wanted the Ultimate Program from both of them!

But after a fight, Bass just left.

* * *

><p>Later, we were at SciLab, a machine was analyzing the can and we were talking about Doctor Wily. Avatar had returned to the net and was resting.<p>

The can had an idiotic message inside it: something about how World Three would reign.

"That was…anticlimactic," I remarked. I mean, after all that trouble they went to over the possibility of it being a bomb!

Then we went to their conference room to talk about Duo and the comet they were showing us. Avatar was participating in that.

Lan suggested we send our navis to Duo's comet. I thought it mildly cute how the three navis on the screen had turned to look at the picture of the comet. I also mildly wondered what they were thinking.

When we were setting up, Doctor Hikari mentioned the danger. Protoman and Megaman both said they wanted to go along with it.

Avatar changed her mind. "Will…you still need me to help you get your memories back. I can't risk something happening to me. Coming to the real world is one thing, but traveling to a comet with unknown dangers…"

"I understand, Avatar." I really did.

Suddenly we had an intruder, and Lan called him Bass! Apparently, it was a robot that Bass was controlling. He broke a panel, pulled some wires out, and jacked in!

Then a net navi met with Bass halfway to the comet! It looked like a girl!

Apparently her name was Slur, she worked for Duo, and Duo really was going to trash the Earth!

She and Bass ended up fighting, and we got a call on gigantic viruses appearing all over the world!

"Sounds like I'll have to go to the real world again," Avatar sounded resigned.

And…Bass got whipped.

Then a Dimensional Area was set up around SciLab so that we could save the place.

Avatar struggled out of the PET again, the boys Cross-Fused, I hopped onto Avatar's back and we leaped into the fray. How I was downloading battle chips from back there I'm not sure. But it was working! We were whipping the viruses!

Then…something destroyed all the rest of the viruses, and we were in outer space or something, watching a planet getting destroyed!

Then a great voice asked, "_**What are you? Navi? Human? This is only clear for two of you.**_"

After a bright light, we got to see Duo – the biggest navi I'd ever seen!

He effectively showed us why he was going to destroy Earth. Judging by the way Avatar was twitching below me, she recognized most of it. I was drawing a blank.

Then he asked the boys, "_**Are you two Net Navis or humans?**_"

They explained about Cross-Fusion. And effectively told him that if he was going to try to destroy Earth they'd fight him.

Avatar pulled out her bola and pointed it at Duo as well, adding, "It's a fluke that I was able to come to Earth, but as long as I can defend my friend and sister, I will fight alongside these two!"

I couldn't let them take all the fun, so I concluded with, "And even though I can't Cross-Fuse with my friend here," I lightly pounded her back, "I'll help however I can!"

Slur appeared around there. And then Duo told us he wanted to give us a Crest of Duo and that it would be a test for humanity!

After some more bright light, I don't remember what happened.

* * *

><p>When I woke up, Avatar was back in her PET and all damage around us had been repaired like it had never happened!<p>

_That was weird._

* * *

><p>That night, we were all looking up at the stars. The comet had faded, but Lan could still see it even though Chaud and I couldn't. My guess was that Lan was currently the only one with the Crest of Duo.<p>

Lan effectively said that with Cross-Fusion, we could pass this test. Chaud simply smiled at him as if to say, "You're so naïve, even though I agree."

I stared at the sky. "We'd better: I still need my memories back."

"I'd tell you more about yourself, but you prefer finding things out on your own."

"Well, thanks anyway."


	2. New Dangers, Programs and PETs

**_New Dangers, Programs and PETs_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

"Hey, Will?" Avatar called up to me from her PET. "Um…I know you're still kind of…blank right now, but I'm wondering if you can try to do two things for me."

"Let's hear them," I studied the screen. I was sitting in my room. This was some time later.

"First of all…could you alter the data in my program that allows me to cross the gap between the cyber world and the real world – integrate it a bit better into my program, make it easier for me to use it?"

"I could try, and the second?"

"I want a size-altering program. Ten feet tall is way less convenient in the real world than six feet."

I laughed. "Well, I'll certainly try my best."

* * *

><p>I worked for about two hours on both projects. Avatar talked to me while I was working, telling me about past adventures. Some of them rang bells, others didn't. None of them seemed to trigger any cascade, though.<p>

Finally, I finished messing with the program. I hadn't hit enter yet, because I knew – somehow – that hitting that key would send Avatar into a trance, and I needed to ask her something. "Avatar, I'm just going to leave my PET here. When you're done, you can jump out and come find me, assuming I'm not back in here, okay?"

"Sure thing. Oh – and if you run into Chaud, give him a Banshee battle chip. You'd been meaning to do that before you lost your memory."

"Banshee battle chip, got it!" I dug out one and shoved it into my pocket, running downstairs.

Soon I was rolling down the street. Not overly fast – my stomach was still pulling a little weird whenever I swung my arms a certain way. I'd have to work that out. I'm already doing some careful stretches to make sure it didn't stay too drawn. I was also wearing a purple-and-green helmet that I'd found in the closet. Judging by the amount of dust that had been on it, I hadn't used it in a while, but I wasn't going to take any chances with my probably-still-cracked skull.

When I found the two of them – Lan and Chaud – Chaud had just given Lan a brand-new PET. Evidently, it was the first one, and they'd been released yesterday. It was all I could do not to snicker when Chaud revealed that his own new PET was the second made one.

Then Chaud looked at me. "Technically, Will, yours is the third one…"

I shrugged. "I don't have Avatar with me: she's sleeping back home while some updates finish installing. I'll just watch Lan try out the new toy."

Megaman appeared on a 3D touch screen, and I immediately waved at him. "Hey there, Megaman!"

Lan was able to give Megaman a blaster just by touching and dragging a symbol – Megaman was just as jazzed as Lan was!

I was already excited by the concept.

Apparently, Chaud wasn't just trying to be nice when he gave Lan that PET: there was something to do.

As we walked out, I suddenly remembered. "Oh, Chaud!" I gave him the Banshee chip. "Avatar reminded me that I'd wanted to give you this. I…still don't remember why…"

He took it, anyway. He filled me in with a smile: "Some time back, you'd discovered that if a Navi that isn't Avatar uses one of your Banshee chips, their programs alter and personalize to the Navi. You'd wanted to give one to each of your friends."

"Oh, I see." I cocked my head and thought about that.

"By the way, Will, I don't remember ever seeing that helmet before," Lan added.

"I'm not risking my head," I knocked on the helmet I hadn't bothered to take off.

* * *

><p>As it turned out, Chaud wanted Lan to be in a TV ad for a safari park. Something told me this was a bad idea, but…without my memories, I wasn't sure I wanted to try to take his place. Just being <em>myself<em> was hard when I couldn't remember who I was, so how was I supposed to be a character?

Lan was bragging to the others for a while. I was still with Chaud.

"By the way, Will," Chaud studied me, "do you remember anything more since I last saw you? Like…about Protoman?"

I shivered. "I have several nerve-racking disjointed memories. Could I see him?"

He passed me his new PET.

"Let's see…hold the thing screen-side up and…"

Protoman appeared on the touch-screen. "Hello, Will. Avatar told me after I was recovered that I should apologize to you directly for injuring you."

"Hey, no big deal. I don't even really remember what happened." I rubbed my helmet. "All that actually comes to mind about it is…_I'd_ done something extremely idiotic, so it was my fault."

Protoman laughed a little, sounding relieved. Then he went back into his screen and I gave the PET back to Chaud.

* * *

><p>When we got to the safari park, I looked around at all the animals. They seemed a little stressed to me.<p>

Lan was excited. Big deal. Then we met one of the guys who was going to help with the photography. Inukai something, I think. He'd apparently tamed the animals quickly. Suddenly, studying Scratch-Face, I figured I knew why the animals were stressed. With his thick eyebrows, shaggy hair and sullen expression, not to mention his lion pet with a scarred-shut eye and spiky collar, he just seemed like bad news to me.

And I remembered something Avatar said to me while I was working:

"Your instinct is the best around. When you felt that something was wrong, you were usually right."

Evidently, the lion's name was Monosuke. Lan laughed, and I knew something was going to happen fast – and it would be bad.

Sure enough, after a little more of an exchange, the lion spooked Lan over. Chaud asked him if he was okay. He was fine.

I remarked, "That guy's bad news."

* * *

><p>Later, the shooting wasn't going too well. Lan kept doing something wrong. Finally, we went on to shoot film of the animals.<p>

I felt it was only a matter of time before that animal tamer Inukai got in trouble for methods, and what do you know – I was right! He used a whip! I was glad that Lan stood up for the animals.

Sure enough, Chaud called for the shooting to stop, and Inukai was fired. He looked at us as he walked past and stated, "I'll remember this, you three kids."

I sat down against the wall and set my hands on my head.

Chaud noticed. "Headache?"

I glanced up at him. "Yeah, I think I have a headache."

* * *

><p>That night was when the trouble started. The animals broke out of the farm and started trashing the city!<p>

I was actually just staying back and watching. Trying to stay ahead of the animals on roller blades or do anything wasn't within my abilities right now.

Apparently, according to Slur, this was a test for us humans. She'd given an Asteroid Navi – one that looked like Savageman – to Inukai, and he was using it to cause the animals to go nuts!

I swayed in the limo. Lan and Chaud stayed in front of the fire, to keep the animals back. Then Inukai used a Dimension Chip, and Savageman came to the real world!

After shock waves knocked them over a couple times, Doctor Hikari got the lead out and gave the boys a Dimensional Area!

I was so happy to watch Lan and Chaud Cross-Fuse – they looked different Cross-Fusing with the new PETs – and kick Savageman's butt all the way back to the net.

Inukai ran off.

* * *

><p>Lan got a big disappointment the next day: they used Chaud instead of him in the advertisement. Oh yeah – Avatar woke up, both programs worked perfectly, and she got a new home.<p>

Now if only my memories would come back properly...


	3. Rascals and Races

**_Rascals and Races_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

Sometime after that, Lan told me about how a news director had come to the school to film Miss Mari, and how a guy in a helicopter had flown down and started flirting with her.

I just laughed. "Did stuff like this happen all the time?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Megaman laughed.

"He said his name was Charlie Airstar," Lan added.

I cocked my head. "I wonder if he's interesting enough for me to meet."

"Oh," Lan said darkly, "I'm sure you'll get the chance."

Soon, robbery reports started coming in from all sorts of art museums. Sand was the only thing connecting the s locations, as told to myself, Lan and Chaud.

Avatar spoke up from my hp. "I suspect someone's got an asteroid Navi like Desertman."

"Desertman?"

"You don't remember him. He's really tough to beat."

* * *

><p>I looked at the internet to find out what was happening. Then I went with Lan to the TV station. We found a great deal of info, and that helicopter boy Charlie was at practically every location!<p>

I studied Shades. "Hm…for all that he turns up in some weird places, I don't think he's actually responsible for the thefts. Desertman doesn't seem to be his style."

"Um…you're probably right." Lan didn't sound too sure, though.

We ended up with our navis chasing a helicopter navi all over the net, and it led us to Charlie!

He noticed me almost immediately. Before he could do anything, though, I held up my hand. "I consider honesty to be the most admirable thing, so if you could just tell us what's going on…"

As it happened, his navi was named Gyroman. He and Megaman ended up fighting. I doubted that this guy was him. Still, once Lan got on a roll, he was hard to get off his rant.

I obliquely mentioned, "Gyroman's cute."

Then they suddenly left!

I tapped Lan's shoulder. "Let's just go."

* * *

><p>Chaud called, and we got to where the thief would strike next. When we got there, we found Gyroman having trouble with Desertman, and our navis bailed him out.<p>

Charlie explained that the TV guy Sunayama was the thief! Apparently, Wily had owned all the stuff he'd stolen!

Then he used a Dimension Chip, getting Desertman out of the net and sending us sliding around in sand!

I grabbed Charlie, and Avatar jumped out of the net herself, catching both of us and leaping clear, though not out of the Dimensional Area that formed. I knew why she hadn't left: she wanted us to watch Lan and Chaud Cross-Fuse.

They were having a slightly hard time. At least, they had a hard time until they made the ground wet and zapped him with an Electro Sword! Finally, they got him to log out. The Dimensional Area went down and the Cross-Fusion ended. But we failed to catch him, and Charlie ended up saving Lan and Chaud with his helicopter.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Charlie explained what he'd been doing. Avatar was still outside the net, and was just standing there with her hand on my shoulder – she'd shrunk to six feet.<p>

Then he left, with me waving after. Still…why did collecting Wily's stuff make any difference? I didn't get it.

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar<strong>

Several days later, news came up about a big Navi Race! I was still in the real world, and I'd informed the important people that I was staying outside for the most part until after Will got her memories back.

Will was throwing her clothes on as fast as she normally does. Then I suggested, "Are you going to dye your hair?"

"Dye it?" and for just a minute, a big grin lit up her face. "Sure! I'll do racing stripes!"

**Will**

When we found Lan and Chaud, they were talking. "Hey, guys!" I twirled on a wheel. "What do you think?" I'd finally decided to use their Navi colors for my racing stripes: alternating blue and red, with a tapering streak of my original white arrowing backwards – well, the tip was on my forehead.

"Wow! You're really getting into this, Will!" Lan was impressed. "Is Avatar racing?"

"No, driving's not really her thing. But we'll be cheering for you two!"

* * *

><p>Sure, I had to wait a day or two for the race to actually start. Still, I dyed my hair the same way then, too.<p>

And they were off!

I was hyped. We were watching this race from the booth and receiving feedback from Megaman and Protoman. I really liked the jackets Lan and Chaud were wearing: very official.

And yet…I couldn't shake a bad feeling when one guy swerved and hit the wall for no apparent reason.

The racers were even racing across water!

Then, later at the pit stop, Chaud heard from Protoman about how one car had used flashing lights to try to hypnotize him.

I noticed a guy with a weirder hat than ever yelling at his PET, and whatever he was saying made no sense.

Then the next part of the race started – through a forest!

Flashy was right behind them, and then he zoomed between them and he was trying to blind them again!

I had that guy tagged for bad news. I just couldn't place why.

At the next pit stop, Lan and Chaud were talking about how that car had to be driven by an asteroid Navi.

"That'd explain why I've got such a bad feeling about this," I said to nobody in particular.

Then the two warriors ended up chasing a navi named Flashman out of their system! And then they started racing off again!

I still didn't quite know what was going on! But then Flashman got a Dimension Chip and came to the real world!

"I hate it when they do that!" I protested.

"Because _I'm_ the only Navi that should have the patent on that?" Avatar teased.

I stayed outside the forming Dimensional Area this time. There wasn't any real need for me to get involved – Lan and Chaud had this, and Avatar was in there. I'd be more useful giving her battle chips.

I was right: it was Weird-Hat Rei in charge of Flashman. I'm still not sure what his motives were.

They beat Flashman, and then Rei jumped into his racecar and tore out of there.

"Sore loser," I walked over to Avatar and leaned on her.

I don't remember who won. I do remember after a certain point when the race was over, Chaud started wearing his "I'm surrounded by idiots" face.

Ah, well.

"By the way, Will," Tory looked at me, "does the hair dye and roller blades mean you remember?"

I knew what he meant. I was also waiting for someone to ask me that. "No, sorry. I remember I loved wearing hair dye, and I couldn't find any indication that I had my driver's license so I decided to wear the roller blades."

Avatar patted my head. "She'll remember. Eventually."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: the 'race' part of this chapter was so vague because I couldn't find an English sub version. I hope I find English subs for future chapters, or this will get vaguer and vaguer.**


	4. Double Crest!

**_Double Crest!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

Sometime after that, we were helping Famous try out some new tech. If Chaud wasn't enjoying playing the bad guy while sending viruses into the Dimensional Area to attack Famous, then he can consider himself de-humanized.

Lan had to bail them out of the last one, though. That didn't completely take me by surprise: no matter how good you are, you've got to be careful when it comes to viruses or you'll miss one. Kinda cute how he was standing on the hood of the car.

Then we got a call and ended up on the next flight out to Netopia. Avatar was in the Net to save travel cost.

Evidently, they had a crater that caused unusual virus activity. I was curious, but not overly so.

At least, not overly so until they mentioned Duo again!

Doctor Hikari mentioned the virus attack a month ago, and explained that the virus attacks had been worldwide!

I had no idea that this was that big!

Megaman and Protoman were uneasy.

* * *

><p>When we got to the base next to the crater, Lan immediately complained about the heat. Personally, I just didn't like the dust. "If you look around and see a brunette in roller-blades, it's me."<p>

I hadn't dyed my hair for this trip.

Once inside, we all – me, Lan and Chaud – ended up seeing blasts from the past!

Then we got things moving again, getting an old truck back on its wheels and sending it with our navis into the crater.

We kept monitor from the base. Avatar stayed with me, in case something started happening in the real world.

And then things got bad: a bunch of alerts popped up on our screen, and they had to deal with an extinct version of virus!

Then something came in through the ceiling into our area! It was another of those bug-like viruses!

Avatar took it out with her Direhorse Bow, but more were coming, so we had to clear out.

A Dimensional Area was given so that Manami could use her gadget to throw battle chips at the viruses.

Of course, then we had an even bigger problem. I mean, these viruses were easily the same size as Avatar full-sized, and there were three of them!

Then the cavalry came: the truck, with Megaman and Protoman!

Cross-Fusion, and we won!

The next day, Lan and I were all set to go home. Chaud decided to stay there a little longer to do some more research. Practically right before we left, Chaud got a crest on his hand, and he could see the stupid comet!

* * *

><p>SEVERAL WEEKS LATER<p>

I got together again with Chaud, along with some other guy named Raoul. "Net Navis have been disappearing, and we need to lure out whoever's responsible."

"Okay, where do we start?"

Chaud looked uncomfortable. "Well…we'll need to pose as villains." He gave me a picture.

I took one look at it and blinked in shock. A man and a boy, both in tasseled rock-star outfits, afros and shades, were standing with a…girl? Or was she a woman? Either way, she definitely had very wavy blonde hair and a low neckline.

"Don't freak, but the blonde is you."

"When did _I_ ever wear _that_?"

"Some time ago. We'd been trying to knock Lan's pride down a notch."

"Oh." I sighed. "Well…if I must…"

At least Avatar and Protoman were forced to wear disguises as well.

"I might as well warn you," Chaud remarked, "You'd been…unimpressed…by the persona I used in the costume."

"So long as I'm warned."

Though it was fun when we appeared on TV. I came out of the recording studio laughing.

* * *

><p>Later, we cornered a fat guy in a coat named Ivan by stepping out of lockers. I was trying my hardest not to laugh some more: my stomach was still sore from the accident.<p>

We were all acting up and insulting the guy. Chaud even ended up with his hands on his cheeks in a worried pose. And frankly, when you're actually doing _that_, you're not really feeling it.

That was the last button we pushed. Then we showed ourselves as Net Savers.

He seemed singularly worried about having attracted attention from so high up.

Then an icicle came through a vent and nearly hit me! We ended up having to chase after him. Then he used a Dimension Chip to release Asteroid Fridgeman!

Chaud called for a Dimensional Area, and then Cross-Fused. Avatar leaped out of the net to help, and I stayed for some reason while Raoul ran to find a more defensible position.

I kind of wonder what I was planning to _do_.

We fell to a different level, and then Chaud slipped on ice. I wasn't running, so I was okay. Avatar almost fell, but she stayed up.

Then Chaud ended up frozen in ice!

I ran over and started trying to break him loose. "Avatar, you keep distracting him!"

"Be careful, Will!" She started vaulting around, landing as carefully as she could.

I held onto Chaud's helmet for brace – the only non-iced part of him – and started using my roller blades to kick the ice around him.

Then – I don't know, maybe I sensed something, for I suddenly lost my grip on his helmet and my next kick sent me sliding away. Electricity shot down from a ceiling vent and hit Chaud, helping him break free!

He used a battle chip that involved a hockey puck, and landed on it, sliding over to me and yanking me onto it near his feet. "Hold on tight, Will!"

He was the one to ultimately beat the guy, of course. When the Dimensional Area went down, I fell at Chaud's feet. When he helped me up, I got a symbol on my hand!

"Duo's crest!" Chaud sounded shocked.

"I guess it was because I risked myself to help you."

* * *

><p>We saw Ivan off, and our Navis - and I - put away their costumes in relief.<p>

I walked over to the window and stared out. The comet shone brighter than any star, and yet it gave me apprehension. I wondered what would happen next.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Will having a crest of Duo is important to her particular storyline. You'll see.**


	5. Return of Raika!

**_Return of Raika!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

While visiting a workout center, we found Manuela frantic over her weight, and how heavy the scale said she was.

I cocked my head. "You know, muscle weighs more than fat." I motioned her off the scale and stepped on myself. The number was a little smaller than hers had been. "See? I know I don't have any excess fat, so if your number's higher, then you must be really strong! Besides, a scale is a really inaccurate manner of judging health."

"Really?" I think I reassured her somewhat.

* * *

><p>Although she still spent the next few days obsessively dieting and exercising.<p>

Then on a submarine trip, we started sinking out of control! Manuela was positive it was her fault.

I was positive it was someone else's fault.

Sure enough, Megaman found Gravityman in the submarine's system!

I sent Avatar in as well to help out.

Then the submarine started going up! Like, into the atmosphere up! We passed a plane!

And I saw for just an instant someone in a window of that plane. Someone strangely familiar…

But back to the problem at hand. Gravityman got a Dimension Chip and started pounding the submarine!

We got a Dimensional Area, and Lan Cross-Fused to fight the guy. Avatar stayed in the net this time to try to get the submarine back down.

Manuela started helping with her own battle chips, and Lan finally won!

**Avatar**

Well, technically, he only drove Gravityman back into the net. Megaman, myself and a new navi named Colonel had to fight him there. Colonel won.

**Will**

Plus, we started falling. Big surprise there, and we found upon landing who was causing the havoc: two wimpy criminals.

* * *

><p>Later, we got to watch as Manuela made up for all her lost meals. The strangely-familiar boy was sitting with us, sipping a drink and also watching her with something resembling fascination.<p>

Mildly funny to me was how it took Lan so long to notice that the boy was there. I studied him. _Blue hair, green jacket with a yellow tie, white gloves and the ugliest hat on the planet…_

**Raika**

I noticed Will just staring at me through narrowed eyes. Avatar had told Searchman – and Searchman had told me – that Will had woken up with amnesia and how she for some reason was remembering Navi names faster than human names, including her own full name. Lan and the others were being careful not to tell her anything until she asked. I bore being Looked At; her memory would either work concerning me, or it wouldn't.

Suddenly, her eyes got big. "Raika!"

She got the attention of everyone at the table.

"You remember him?" Lan asked. He sounded like he was in shock.

"Yeah! I don't know why, but I remember him!"

I figured I knew why. Avatar had said that the last word Will had spoken before being knocked out was my name.

"Do you remember anything else?" Avatar called up, sounding like she thought that such would be too good to be true, but still hoped it was.

Will sighed and slouched on the bench. "No…" she set her hand against her head. "I remember…lots of cold…and something about a dog, but that's it."

I glanced at Lan. _Should I say something now?_

He nodded slightly. _Yeah, go ahead._

So I told her, "I'm from Sharo, which is very cold; you've been there before. And while you were there, you got to meet my dog, Morazov."

"Oh, that explains it." She sounded satisfied with what I had to say.

Avatar sighed in disappointment.

**Will**

Yeah, I remembered Raika. Not well, but I remembered I liked him.

"So…" I tried to make conversation again, "how long will you be here?"

"A few weeks."

* * *

><p>A couple of those weeks later, we had to stop a train that was going nuts. Lan was already on the train, and I was letting Raika's motorcycle pull me along.<p>

We ended up vaulting off a ramp! Searchman got there just in time to stop the train.

Apparently, there were dark chips spreading around the system again, and the train's navi had been affected by one. Raika explained to me what dark chips were. "Protoman had one back when…well…when you'd gotten hurt."

"Oh."

* * *

><p>I was trailing along with Lan to deal with each of these instances. Megaman even got a Pandora-Soul out of it – that's what I suggested he call the navi chip for Avatar.<p>

Finally, we both found the warehouse where the stuff was probably being made. The workers were acting really strange.

Well, we found the dark chips – being installed in robotic dogs! We'd seen these dogs around town!

Then, after Megaman was sent into the net, we started getting attacked by robot dogs, and Inukai and Rei appeared. Lan ended up dropping his PET onto the conveyor belt!

I was keeping up with his PET easier than he was, so… "Lan, you keep those guys distracted, I'll get your PET!"

He got the dogs to blow up on the machine, but he was stuck hanging from a bar. I jumped onto the belt and picked up the PET, but the machine just stopped! Then Raika came blasting through the doors on his motorcycle!

I was so stunned by his appearance that I forgot I was holding Lan's PET.

Which was a good thing, because it meant I could watch Raika Cross-Fuse and take down two Asteroid Navis on his own, and both were taller than he was!

Camouflage, extreme precision, grenades… Sure, he lost his bike, but who cared? I was seriously considering, once this was over, grabbing him by his tie and kissing him!

As the Dimensional Area went down and Raika's Cross-Fusion came undone, I rolled over to him, throwing Lan's PET back. "Raika, you were awesome!"

* * *

><p>When we got back to base, Lan and Raika were sort of half-arguing over the fact that Raika could Cross-Fuse. I personally didn't care.<p>

Though…I kept looking at him in confusion.

Finally, he noticed. "What is it, Will?"

"I thought you didn't approve of Cross-Fusion!" Then I immediately wondered how I'd even known that.

His eyebrows went up. "I didn't at first. Right now, though, since these Asteroid Navis can cause real damage in this world, we need all the Cross-Fusers we can get. I'm a little surprised you didn't go for it yourself."

Avatar answered that one. "I convinced Doctor Hikari that giving her a Synchro Chip while she's an amnesiac wasn't the best idea. We just aren't in sync that much right now."

* * *

><p>A little bit later, we watched Raika training a little. Then he turned off the Cross-Fusion and just left after a couple statements to Lan. Something about how Sharo needed a Cross-Fuser.<p>

"Still as abrupt as ever," I remarked at his back.

* * *

><p>The next day, Raika invited us to watch a fencing match. We got introduced to a friend of Raika's, Iriya. He won his match. Then we ended up running out to investigate a burglary done by an Asteroid Navi!<p>

Swords had been stolen!

I swear, we were chasing this guy all over creation. Avatar told me later that the guy's name was Japanman. Personally, I don't know why she waited so long to tell me.

Raika suspected his own friend Iriya was behind this, so he arranged a plan. We'd wait at the next site, and he'd engage his own friend in a fencing match.

To say I was worried about Raika was an understatement, and _he_ wasn't even the one in danger!

Finally, Japanman came to the real world, a Dimenisonal Area was called up, and Lan and Raika Cross-Fused.

I was impressed when Raika pulled Program Advance. I was scared when Japanman pulled some magic trick to get super weapons! Lan got thrown across the room, and Raika was knocked flat while keeping me from getting hit!

Then Iriya ran in and got to see his Net Navi beating up his friend. I glared back at him from my vantage point next to Raika. (What did I think I'd be doing there, anyway? Why wasn't I running?) "Way to go, Iriya: you're about to kill your best friend!"

Then he ran between us and Japanman! He wasn't going to let his navi hurt us! The fencing sword was history, and then Raika pulled a Barrier to protect all of us.

The two Cross-Fused combined forces and deleted Japanman.

Then we just stood there and stared at each other. He apologized, and we forgave him.

* * *

><p>That evening, after Raika got back into his standard regulation outfit, he told us he was going back to Sharo. As he was saying goodbye to us, suddenly light started shining from his glove!<p>

Pulling it off revealed the Crest of Duo!

"Well," I began, but then I trailed off as he looked up. I could see the comet reflected in his blue eyes.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I loved referencing Will's description of Raika from _Where There's a Will_! ^_^**


	6. First Kiss

**_First Kiss_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

Some time after that, we had some interesting trouble around: parts of the real world were being digitized!

Parts of the real world – and anyone who happened to be there. Including our friends! Lan and I were practically the only ones to avoid getting zapped!

Probably the only reason I avoided the dematerialization is because I was with Lan, deeming his difficulty much more interesting.

As if that wasn't crazy enough, Doctor Regal appeared and captured Doctor Hikari!

"Never a dull moment, huh Lan?" I asked.

"How could you joke like that at a time like this?" Lan snapped at me.

"If I don't try to stay light, we're going to crack. At least this way we're staying calm."

"Right…"

* * *

><p>Charlie took us to an airstrip and we met up with Chaud, flying off to a military base on an island.<p>

Then we were joined by Raika en route!

"Great to see you again, Raika!" I admit I acted vaguely silly then, jumping him in a hug.

After we confirmed that we were going to get a Dimensional Area, we settled back to talk over our plan. I was just sitting back listening.

"We go in," Chaud told us, "get the Dimensional Area, Cross-Fuse and then, while Raika, Avatar and I hold off the welcoming committee, Lan goes to rescue Doctor Hikari."

"Sounds good," I leaned against Raika, "but what do _I_ do?"

Chaud smirked at me. "Besides try not to get yourself killed?"

I pouted at him. "I'm not _that_ bad."

* * *

><p>Protoman got a truck blown up while we found out what the security system was, and then we called for a Dimensional Area. I sent Avatar over to deal with the mechs right away, since she didn't need a Dimensional Area to jump around. While I was at it…<p>

"Raika, I was meaning to give you this." I tossed him a Banshee battle chip.

"Thank you, Will. Until we can pass you off to Avatar, stay with me."

"No place I'd rather be." _I'm going to make myself sick. Did I _really_ just say that?_

The boys Cross-Fused, I hopped onto Raika's back, and we leaped into battle.

What a ride – hanging onto Raika as he blasted mechs right and left!

Then when we got into the building…we were surrounded by _thousands_ of mechs!

As the Cross-Fusers and Avatar backed up against each other, I carefully transferred myself over to Avatar's back. "Are we in deep kimchee?"

"That depends," Avatar glanced back at me, "how many Beast Chips did you bring?"

"Uh…ten each?"

"That'll have to do. Use them all."

Lan dashed off to find his dad, and I downloaded…

"Titanothere, Direhorse, Banshee battle chips, multiple download!"

"How many of those things _are_ there?" Raika asked nobody. I think he was talking about the mechs.

"Who knows?" Chaud answered. "But it's probably nothing compared to what Lan's facing."

* * *

><p>I don't know how long we were fighting. I know one time, Avatar and I ended up near Raika again during the fight. "Raika, we get out of this alive, I'm kissing you."<p>

"I look forward to it," Raika retorted with a tone so deadpan, I couldn't tell if he meant it or not. I couldn't see his face from my angle.

Then an earthquake started!

"What's going on?" Raika protested.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Avatar screamed back.

Then we saw a big glowing…_thing_ above us!

"_That's_ Nebula Grey?" someone asked.

It wasn't like I didn't know about Nebula Grey.

And then the boys' Cross Fusion came undone as the building was falling apart! Avatar grabbed both of them and vaulted outside the building limits, and we watched as the whole place started going down.

"You think Lan will get out just fine?"Avatar asked.

"Sure he will," I answered, vaguely amused that Avatar still had Chaud and Raika under her arms like a couple of dolls. "Lan always gets himself out of situations like this, usually looking like he came out worst in a fight."

Avatar ran back in, setting all of us down, to find and carry out Doctor Hikari and Lan. Once they were back, I put Avatar back into her PET and we set sail away from the island in a life raft.

I don't remember when the Dimensional Area went down.

Doctor Hikari thanked us all, and then a relief team came to pick us up.

I was just glad when Lan stopped jumping in the life raft.

Then I noticed while we were flying back to Dentec City…Raika was just…looking at me. His expression was…oddly curious.

Apparently, Avatar noticed as well. "Will…back there…were you kidding, or did you really mean to – um…we got out of this alive." She sounded amused.

"Oh yeah." Now I remembered saying that. I'd almost forgotten.

"What are you talking about?" Lan asked. He definitely sounded confused.

Then Chaud demonstrated that he had acute hearing, even in the middle of battle. "Will had said back there that if we got out of this alive, she was going to kiss Raika."

I could feel myself starting to blush as Lan started trying not to laugh. Then I glanced at Raika. "Um…this is awkward."

Raika shrugged and started turning away, looking disappointed or something related.

"Will," Avatar whispered, just barely loud enough for me to hear, "just do it! Don't you want to see if you're capable of making cool-and-collected _Raika_ blush?"

I rolled my eyes. Then I opted not to let myself think: I reached over, grabbed Raika's tie, swung him around and kissed him full on the mouth.

And at that close range, I could feel the heat from his face. Beyond that, I definitely felt on fire from my own actions, and…I probably would have felt triumph if I was capable of thinking at that moment.

When I let him go, I turned to glare at Lan. He was laughing. Hard.

"I ought to kill you," I remarked in a conversational tone.

Then a white-gloved hand rested on my shoulder. "Let him be."

I glanced at Raika again. His face was still pink, but he was smiling.

_So I _can_ make cool-and-collected Raika blush,_ I thought to myself, now truly feeling triumph.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: _Program of Light And Darkness_ takes credit. I loved writing the ending! ^_^**


	7. Bad Dreams

**_Bad Dreams_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

When we got a message about a trashed center in Sharo with Raika and Pryde nowhere to be found, Lan and I were sent out. This time I brought warmer clothes. According to Avatar, last time I hadn't checked Sharo's climate reports and so hadn't dressed properly.

I confess, the main reason I was coming along was jealousy: I didn't want a princess getting my Raika.

The suit that was evidently Raika's uncle and commanding officer – I remembered his face, but not his name – was really worried, but he effectively told us that with a blizzard coming up, he couldn't let us go out there.

I yanked on my hat and walked out of the room.

Lan caught up with me. "What are you gonna do?"

"Find Raika. At this point, I don't care about Pryde."

"Hey, if you're worried about Raika liking Pryde more than you…"

I spun around. "Why wouldn't I be? She's a princess, she lives closer to Raika than I do, and she's prettier than I am! Plus, she doesn't have amnesia!"

He stared at me for a minute, at a loss for words.

"Will?"Avatar called up to me.

I pulled out my PET and activated the screen.

"You're a Net Saver, which puts you on equal par with a princess, and you have one other score that ties you with her concerning him." The look on her face got outright impish. "You're the only one who's kissed him! He seemed to really like _that_!"

I rolled my eyes, putting my PET away again. "Let's…just go find them."

* * *

><p>We borrowed a jeep, and Morazov came with us to help find Raika. I petted him. "Hi! You're worried about Raika, too, aren't you?"<p>

I was driving. For absolutely no reason except that I outranked Lan in age and was in no mood to argue, I was the one driving.

Morazov did most of the navigation, strangely enough. It almost made me wonder if the dog had a psychic link with the people of Sharo.

I got even more direction when I saw a Dimensional Area set up! "There's no reason for there to be a Dimensional Area over there – you're with me, Chaud's anywhere except Sharo…"

"That leaves Raika!"

"Bingo! Hold onto your hat!"

* * *

><p>Yeah, I was probably breaking some speed limits there. Not that there were any speed limits out in the middle of a frozen wasteland. (Sorry, Raika.)<p>

We got to a snow-covered castle around the time the Dimensional Area went down. I had both Raika and Pryde spotlighted with my headlights. Lan immediately ran over to Pryde. Actually, she started running towards him as well, and they met in the middle.

Morazov ran over to Raika, snapping him out of a slight daze. I straightened my scarf and started walking over.

**Raika**

I will admit I was a little sad that Pryde lost interest in me so quickly after Lan's arrival. But that, honestly, only lasted as long as it took me to notice Will walking towards me.

And it was easy to notice her. With a blue coat, pink boots, a multicolored scarf and a bright yellow hat, she stood out against the snow.

"Hey there, Raika," her voice was muffled by the scarf.

I couldn't help it: I laughed. "Are you more afraid of the cold or of vanishing into your surroundings?"

Her eyes narrowed and she started giggling. "Who said I was afraid of the cold?" she asked, yanking down her scarf.

Then I got serious again. "Pryde has a Crest of Duo now."

She cocked her head. "So…what do you think of her?"

"Of Pryde?" I was a little surprised she asked the question. Then I suddenly recognized the subtext. I'm not sure how I did, when I have no experience with girls; but the fact that her expression was making me think of Lan when he was annoyed with people neglecting to give him attention, might have had something to do with it. I reached over and took hold of her red-gloved left hand. "I think we shouldn't worry about that right now. The fate of humanity is at stake. That aside, you both have the same courage."

She used her right hand to try pulling her scarf back up one-handed.

I blinked – her right glove was _green_!

She noticed me staring. And abruptly went back to normal. "What? I couldn't find a match!"

**Will**

I got him to laugh again. I guess that's something.

"Hey, Raika, um…I'd like to stay here for a night, if that's okay."

"Here as in Sharo?" He sounded surprised. Well, I hadn't made any secret of my dislike of the cold.

"Yeah. I…I've been getting a pretty bad vibe from my dad, and I figure we need some space. And what's farther from my dad than Sharo?" I waved my arms at the snowy expanse to make my point.

"Well…I suppose."

_I've probably broken about five regulations with that. Ah, well._

I didn't have any pajamas, but I was fine sleeping fully dressed. And I do mean fully: I only removed my scarf because I didn't want to risk strangulation.

* * *

><p>And as it happens, I didn't have to sleep in my clothes. Raika let me borrow one of his shirts – and it was actually low-key, I hadn't thought he had anything less than pressed formal.<p>

**Raika**

She was asleep on my couch, and I was working late. "I can't believe I decided to let her stay here for a night. Searchman, did Lan get back all right?"

"Yes, Raika."

Avatar was next to me. She was powered down, but she had told me something before turning in.

"_Will's memories have a tendency of cropping up in her dreams, even if she doesn't really know how they connect to her. They make her wake up disoriented and pretty suddenly, so if you're still awake when she pops up, just remind her where she is and she'll start trying to go back to sleep._"

"I let myself get talked into this how?"

Searchman recognized the question as rhetorical and didn't answer it. "She's moving, Raika."

I glanced over my shoulder at her. She was moving a little, mumbling something incoherent. Thanks to the way she'd pulled her hat down, I couldn't see her eyes, but her tone was negative.

And it was starting to rise in volume enough for me to make out that she was saying the word no, in increasingly more desperate tones as her movements also got more frantic.

I looked back at Searchman. "Should I wake her up?"

"Maybe you'd better - she has to go home in the morning."

I got up with a sigh, walked over to her and knelt down.

Before I could touch her, though, she suddenly sat bolt upright, yanking her hat off! "It's not my fault!" she protested, her eyes wide open, desperate and sad.

"Will." I tried to stay calm. Even warned, that had been incredibly intense. "You're in Sharo, at my place. You were having a dream, and Avatar told me that your dreams had high probability of being memories."

"Oh." She shivered, and I doubt it was entirely because of the cold.

I stood up. "Well, now that you've been informed…"

Her hand shot out and grabbed mine! "Please! Don't leave me!"

I stared at Will's face. _She's…scared! I didn't think she could be scared of anything! What happened to her?_ Then I sat down on the sofa next to her and asked, taking her other cold hand and holding them together in mine, "Would you feel better if you told me about it?"

She sighed sadly, looking at our hands. "I've been having this particular dream several nights in a row. I hoped that leaving home would make them go away. No such luck."

"What was the dream?"

She was quiet for so long that for a minute, I worried she wouldn't answer. Then the floodgates opened.

"There's a lot of dream-logic in these, because I know the stars of this dream. My mom and dad are with me, and we're touring somewhere extremely cold and with a lot of big machines. I don't think it was Sharo, but I couldn't say for sure. Then…something happened. Alerts were going off all over the place, screens were exploding and pipes were breaking and spraying more cold air into the room. I remember someone yelling about viruses. Then the doors leading out of the room started closing. My dad outran me and Mom, and got through one door well before it closed. Lots of other people ran past us to get out that door, the only one still mostly open. I…I couldn't run fast enough to keep up. My mom dragged me along, and gave me one final shove. I was the last one out of that room, the door closed behind me. I tried to get the door open for my mom, but someone else grabbed me and dragged me away. Something fell and clouted me on the back, really hard. I didn't fall. I still felt cold, but nowhere near as cold as the look my dad was giving me. Dream-logic again, I _knew_ what was wrong: he blamed me for my mom being trapped in there and dying as the building fell to pieces behind us."

I stared at her. _That's a memory of hers?_ Then I stood up again, setting her hands back in her lap. "Don't worry, I'm not leaving."

I pulled my table over next to the sofa, arranging it so that I could work while sitting there instead. She watched my every move.

Finally, everything was set. I settled down, looked at her, and patted my lap as if calling Morazov. "Come on, lay down."

I could tell when she got it: a slight smile quirked onto her face. Then she spun around – technically I was sitting next to her feet – and settled herself the other way around. "Good night, Raika."

Working this way was a little awkward, but I managed. And when she fell asleep, I stayed there a little longer, wrapping up a few things. "Searchman, take a note: I should borrow Avatar in the morning and tell her about that dream."

"Yes, Raika."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Avatar explains tomorrow.**_


	8. Bad Dreams, part 2

**_Bad Dreams, part 2_**

* * *

><p><strong>Raika<strong>

I'd moved during the night, once Will was asleep, being extremely careful not to wake her.

When morning came, I gently shook her shoulder. "Will, it's time for you to get up."

"Hmm?" Slowly, she turned to look at me, blinking in the light. Then she mumbled something at me.

Avatar answered her, though I hadn't understood it. "It's six fifteen, Will."

"Mmm…" She grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her head.

"Bad night?" Avatar turned her head and looked at me.

I just nodded. Then I chose to behave like my uncle: I grabbed the blankets and yanked them off.

She let out a yelp and lunged, trying to keep a hold of them, and only succeeded in falling on the floor.

"Will, your flight will be leaving in an hour. And if you're not fed, showered and dressed by then, you'll miss it."

She glared at me. But then she got up and started off towards the bathroom.

"Don't use up all the hot water," I called after her.

"Do you even have the same definition of hot that she does?" Avatar laughed.

"Quite possibly…not." I picked up her PET and studied her. "Do you want to hear about the dream she had last night?"

"If it was the one that had her screaming, 'It's not my fault,' I've heard that one." Avatar's face had gone serious.

"Is that actually one of her memories?"

"Yes: one she's tried for so long to suppress. She really doesn't remember where the family had been visiting, but that's understandable, considering she was only five at the time. Will didn't technically tell me this memory, but she made sure I knew so that I would understand her."

Before I could ask her more, a yelp sounded from the bathroom.

"Don't wait forever for the water to get hot," I called to her, "because it probably won't get as warm as you want it."

"How did you _survive_?" Will yelled back.

"I grew up here! Now just hurry, all right?" I ignored her after that, turning my attention back to her Navi. "Did it happen just as she described it?"

"Yeah, pretty much. That's where her extreme dislike of cold came from. The amnesiac you see right now avoided her dad's attitude for so long because he'd been off on a business trip this whole time; he came back about a week before today."

"And she's had these nightmare memories ever since then?"

Avatar nodded. "It's why she calls herself Will. Her mom had named her, and now just hearing anything about the woman causes her dad pain, so Will started trying her best to avoid the name her mom gave her. And, incidentally, it explains the roller blades."

"What?"

"The only thing that Will remembers about the death of her mom is that Selena – that was her mom's name – sacrificed herself to save Will. And the reason that was necessary was because Will wasn't fast enough."

"But she was five!"

"That didn't matter. Her mom was dead because she wasn't fast enough, and her dad blamed her for it. Hence, she took up rollerblading and high speeds as a hobby. I worry that one day someone she cares about will get hurt because she was _too_ fast – Maylu's already had some close calls."

I sat back, thinking about what she'd told me. "Will she always need to be fast?"

"I think…that someone she cares about – the only real way to penetrate her stubborn head is if it's someone she cares about, and I don't count – needs to convince her that not being fast enough isn't the end of the world. Because, honestly," and Avatar got, if anything, even more solemn, "she never will be 'fast enough.'"

Realization hit me like a thunderbolt. _And she'll only kill herself trying._

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Too true, that one._**


	9. Special Delivery, part 1

**_Special Delivery, part 1_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

I was actually left out of the loop for a while. Avatar was involved in more than I was for some time.

She kept me updated, though. Mostly, what she reported were different people who'd received crests.

* * *

><p>First, she told me that Chaud was back in town, and how a woman named Miss Yuri, sister to Miss Mari, had a crest.<p>

Then came the exception. She mentioned that she and Megaman had jumped through time and gotten zapped by Shademan! I remembered that guy, though not well. I could have sworn he was deleted!

The next person to get a crest of Duo was Dingo, followed by a girl named Jasmine.

* * *

><p>Okay, I got involved around the time a Miss Tiara contest started. I entered for no reason whatsoever.<p>

The prize was a golden tiara, which I didn't want. I entered as moral support for Maylu and some other friends of mine.

I could almost feel sorry for Lan – just about all my female friends were coming to him for support, or asking to be entered or something. I didn't ask; I simply wanted, if I was entered, to be picked on my own merit.

I did make it that far. A couple people I was half-familiar with were clearly despising each other.

An outright fight started between two of them, and then a fight with Asteroid Navis started, a Dimensional Area formed, and I tossed Avatar into the fray with Lan. Manami joined the fight with her Battle Chip toy.

We won, obviously. And the winner of the Miss Tiara contest was, of all people, me!

"What am I even going to do with this thing?" I asked, staring at my friends with the dopey tiara on my head.

And Charlie got the crest of Duo, along with, according to that playboy, the lady who'd run off after the fight: Tesla.

Hm.

* * *

><p>Some time later, Megaman ended up with some bad nightmares about himself hurting his friends and enjoying it…and our friends' navis were badly hurt the same night.<p>

Weird coincidence, especially since his scan clocked up as normal.

Though…then Megaman started causing havoc around town, and ended up arrested.

It didn't take long for us to learn that the guy causing havoc wasn't the real Megaman, but rather a dark copy!

We had to go rescue the real deal. That was hectic.

No, I wasn't actually involved in that. I…Avatar had told me about a delivery service I'd taken to running, just to stay fast. I was running the delivery service this whole time to stay away from Dad.

Hence the reason Avatar had to keep me updated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Avatar<strong>_

Lan's dad found out that the crests of Duo connected together, making every crest-bearer Lan's ally.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Will<strong>_

Yai got all of us to participate at throwing a fireworks party. Fyrefox, naturally, was helping. I knew F.F., a little. According to Avatar, I often made deliveries for them.

Hence the reason the guy remembered me, even though I didn't directly remember him.

Of course, then some Darkloids decided to try to crash the party by deep-freezing us. I hated cold!

It was mainly thanks to Fyrefox that we drove them off. He got a crest of Duo out of it. And, of course, the party was a success.

* * *

><p>Later on, Maylu got a Crest of Duo. Then Dark Megaman took Tesla hostage in her own hideout!<p>

Figuring out how to go about rescuing her would take time.

And time, at first, was something we didn't have. Sure, we didn't have to deal with the Asteroid Navis anymore…but Dark Megaman had collected Darkloids to fight us with!

* * *

><p>After a few parties like that, where several more people became able to Cross-Fuse and another person got a crest, the crew finally went off to rescue Tesla.<p>

End verdict, according to Avatar, was that they rescued her, but almost everyone had lost their crests to Dark Megaman! Or Doctor Regal, or somebody!

* * *

><p>Then one day, Lan found me rolling with my cart. "Hey, Will."<p>

"Hey yourself; what's up? You don't normally seek me out when I'm running my route."

"It's just that…Miss Yuri lost her Crest."

"How? Wacked-out hand scan?"

"Worse. Dark Megaman tricked her into a Dimensional Area and tried to steal it from her. Then Doctor Regal turned up and took it himself!"

"Whoa."

"What do you mean, 'Whoa'? You've got the last Crest of Duo! Doctor Regal and Dark Megaman are both going to be pulling out all the stops looking for you so that Regal can use the data in that crest to absorb all the power from Duo's comet and take over the world!"

I stared at him for a second, letting the full import of his words hit me. Then I shrugged as best I could under my harness. "Whatever. I'm too fast for them; they'll never catch me."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: The site where I was watching the episodes just quit working, and now I'm forced to partially deviate away from the episodes. I still have the episode list, so I can follow along, and I've seen all of these episodes once before, so I can still punch in some details, but...still. BTW, Will's going to end up eating those words. :P I hope I can find a way to make the next chapter a comic, because I can see the next one easier as a comic.**


	10. Special Delivery, part 2

**_Special Delivery, part 2_**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ah, if I really want to, I can make a comic for this chapter some other day.**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

I really hate it when I say things like that. It just begs karma to make me eat my words.

* * *

><p>A few days later, while I was running my service, Avatar called up to me, "<span>We've got another delivery request! There's something for you to pick up in a warehouse by the docks.<span>"

"Something, huh? Does it say what?"

"No."

"Well, let's see what they want."

My cart rattling along behind me, I followed Avatar's instructions. The warehouse she finally got me to stop in front of looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"Avatar? Send off an email to Doctor Hikari and Lan. On second thought, go there yourself and tell them that there's going to be a Dimensional Area in a few seconds."

"Will, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive. I kind of feel I have to."

I heard her sigh. "Okay…"

I tossed my PET into my cart and wheeled in.

The inside was slightly better kept than the outside was. Dust covered the floor, and holes let light in through the ceiling. Support beams were wobbly, and catwalks looked dangerously weak.

The doors worked fine, though; they slammed shut behind me, nearly taking the back panel off my cart!

"Watch it!" I snapped to nobody in particular.

Then my PET started ringing.

"Oh, good grief," I started fussing at my harness, unstrapping myself so that I could wheel around to the other side of the cart and get my PET out of the back.

It was Dark Megaman. "You have kept your crest from me for a long time. I'm impressed."

I rolled my eyes. "Flattery won't get me to give you the thing."

"I didn't think it would. By the way, how _have_ you kept it from me all this time, anyway?"

"I'm left-handed." If he was smart, he'd know that the crests appeared on the right hand.

"Ah, I see."

_How are we having a civilized conversation, anyway?_

Then his picture disappeared and a Dimensional Area went up around the warehouse!

As he appeared, I holstered my PET and remarked, "How did I know you were going to do that?"

Mega Buster came out, and he swung it to bear. "Let me put matters this way: you give me your crest, and I let you live."

I shoved my cart towards him and took off rolling. "Not your token to bargain with!"

The next few minutes were filled with mass destruction and general chaos. He blew up my cart, and started shooting at where I used to be. I was too fast for him to hit! I was so glad I kept training with Lan and Megaman!

* * *

><p><strong>Avatar<strong>

I surfed through the net as quickly as I could. "Gotta find Megaman, gotta find Megaman," I repeated over and over to myself.

Finally, I arrived on the server. Megaman was talking with Doctor Hikari, and Protoman and Searchman were with him! "Guys, we have a problem, or we will in another few seconds."

"Just a minute, Avatar," Doctor Hikari started tapping some keys outside my view, "I'm getting an alert on something."

"Don't tell me, let me guess: a Dimensional Area."

Lan leaned into the picture again. "Yeah! How'd you know?"

"Because Will's inside it. Will…and Dark Megaman."

"_What?_" I'd never heard Raika or Chaud sound so agitated.

"If we hurry, we should be able to get there in time to save her."

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

I actually ended up kicking Dark Megaman once! That was insane!

Ten minutes of dodging – I checked my watch – and my energy was starting to flag. I couldn't let it get to me, though: my survival depended on it. I caught a support pole and started spinning around it as fast as possible. Every glance I got at Dark Megaman showed he was trying to figure out which way I was going to launch. Finally, he fired at the same time I let go and went rolling backwards. His shot went past the pole on the opposite side from where I let go! That was the first time that he'd missed and it wasn't something I'd done!

I yelled, waving my arms out for balance, "Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!"

Suddenly, a point of light shot through my head, bringing with it a memory:

_I was rollerblading down a street, with a PET cord tied about my neck and talking with Avatar. "Okay, what's the most outrageous thing I could possibly want to do?"_

"_Hmm…__" Avatar's voice answered me. "__Make out with a Net Navi!__"_

_And right along with my laughter and hers, Megaman asked, "__You're not serious, Avatar!__"_

I blinked. Dark Megaman looked about as stunned as I felt. Then a slow smile spread over his face, and he started laughing as he put away his Mega Buster.

Two things occurred to me at the same time. One, that Dark Megaman, being, well, _Megaman_, remembered that day probably in way better detail than I did; and two…

_I just gave him a straightline!_

My second wind came, and I started rolling away from that area as fast as I possibly could.

Dark Megaman called after me, "I'll give you a head start!"

_That sarcasm has a point; where _can_ I go? I can't leave the Dimensional Area!_

"Shouldn'ta given him that straightline, shouldn'ta given him that straightline…" After muttering that twice through, I gave it up and saved my breath for running.

My legs and lungs were burning, and every stroke of my wheels was beginning to wobble. There was no way I could keep up that pace for long.

I charged up a ladder to get onto a catwalk and started speedrolling across that. Looking over to my right for whatever reason, I saw a truck pull up outside the Dimensional Area through a hole in the roof, and Lan and Chaud were getting out! I was going to make it!

Then I looked where I was going again.

Dark Megaman suddenly appeared on the catwalk in front of me! I yelped and slammed on the brakes.

That was more punishment than the catwalk could take; the floor gave under my wheels!

I think I screamed. I'm not sure. But I figured I could hit the ground rolling and still escape for a little longer. My wheels touched the ground…

…And exploded like miniature bombs.

Worse than that, I think I somehow had one foot slightly upraised, because my left foot twisted while my gravity was orienting to solid ground. With a yell of pain, I fell to the ground amid pink plastic shards.

Then I found that my life could get worse. Once I was flat on the ground, I couldn't move: I just didn't have the energy. I couldn't run anymore. My body felt numb, and I was so tired I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

I heard a thump near me, and some snapping in proper footstep-time. _That would be Dark Megaman walking through what's left of my wheels to get to me._

"You played well, Will." Then he slipped one hand under my head and picked up my right wrist with his other hand. "But you've lost."

He set my hand flat against the symbol on his chest, pinned it there with his hand, and kissed me.

I don't know, maybe by then I'd resigned myself to what was happening. That kiss…it was like being kissed by a live power cord, only it didn't hurt. Well…_that_ didn't hurt. My hand hurt. My head _really_ hurt. I tried to scream, but Dark Megaman wouldn't give me the chance to.

…Can I really call it blacking out when my eyes were closed to begin with?

* * *

><p><strong>Raika<strong>

Avatar caught hold of Lan's wrist, as well as Chaud's, and her braid wrapped itself around my wrist. "Stay close, boys: now that I can see where I'm going, I'm going to Rush-jump us inside!"

That was a singular experience; we were briefly inside the net, and then inside the Dimensional Area! She let us go, and we ran inside the warehouse.

Only to stop dead in our tracks. The warehouse was a complete wreck, and Dark Megaman was just laying Will back down on the floor in the middle of some pink shrapnel. Her rollerblades were broken – that must have been the source of that oddly-colored shrapnel – and she looked unconscious!

He smiled at her with a look on his face that was almost kind. Then he looked up at us. "Too slow, Avatar."

That was all he said. Then he left.

The Dimensional Area went down, and I ran past Avatar to get to Will. She wasn't moving, and made no attempt to react as I pulled her into my arms. She, honestly, looked dead with her face so pale – almost paler than the time she was in the hospital.

Avatar leaned over my shoulder. "Is she…she couldn't be…she_ can't_ be!"

Her words only echoed my tears.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: ...I don't think I'll tell you readers how Will is. Read on!**


	11. Wilhelmina Returns!

**_Wilhelmina Returns!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Will<strong>

_Unh…wha…am I dead?_

_Would my head really hurt this much if I was dead? I can't feel anything else…_

Plip.

_Huh? Water?_

Plip.

_Either I'm under a leak in the roof and it's raining, or somebody's crying all over me._

With that little revelation, the rest of my senses slowly started coming back on. And sure enough, I felt – sort of – that I was in somebody's arms, and I could hear sobbing. It sounded male, so it wasn't Avatar.

_Lan? Chaud? I know two people it absolutely couldn't be: my dad, and Raika._

_Well, I won't know until I open my eyes._

Slowly, I pried one eye open. My vision through that eye blurred and cleared.

And I couldn't believe it: it was _Raika!_ Awful hat and all!

For a second, all I could do was lay there and stare at him. Then I reached up slowly, grabbed his hat, and started drying his tears. "It's a good thing this isn't Sharo," – was I saying this out loud? I could barely hear myself! – "Or your tears would freeze."

Somebody behind Raika gasped, and then started cracking up. _Probably Lan._ Raika's head jerked up, and he stopped crying for a minute, just staring at me as I let my hand fall back onto my chest.

The look on his face was shocked. I figured I might as well break it to them. "I'm sorry: I lost my Crest of Duo. I wasn't fast enough to hold out…"

Then Raika used some barracks-language I hadn't realized he even _knew_, that added up to "Who cares about the end of the world?" and pulled me against his chest in a hug!

That got me opening my other eye, which was a good thing, because I didn't believe what I was seeing behind his back.

Lan was just standing there staring at the two of us, and _Chaud_ was laughing! He was laughing with his entire body! I'd never seen Chaud in convulsions before!

"Um…" Okay, I knew they were going to hear this one, "…did everyone go crazy while I was dead?"

Then _Lan_ started laughing.

I heard Avatar behind me. "So. Do you remember who you are?"

I started twisting a little, trying to look over my shoulder. Trying to move just reminded my body how tired it was; tired and sore.

As soon as Raika figured out what I wanted, though, he loosened his grip so that I could turn easier. I swiveled around and looked at her. She looked like she was considering my remembering to be too good to be true.

I thought for a minute. Then I looked around at all my friends and grinned. "My name is Wilhelmina."

Raika started crying again, and the boys started cheering.

"Okay," I rolled out of Raika's lap, "time to get up." I started putting weight on my ankles…

…And fell back down with a hiss.

Raika started trying valiantly to recover, and went over to my feet. "What's wrong?"

"My ankle…I think I twisted it when I fell."

"Fell?" Lan looked up at the catwalk with its gaping hole, as Raika started carefully removing the glorified boots that used to be my roller blades. "From up there? How'd you _survive_?"

"Luck, and my faithful roller blades."

"What's left of them," Chaud added, staring at one of them. (Raika had thrown that practically right at his feet.)

"What can I say? They're old." Then I hissed again as Raika gently gripped each ankle, checking their condition.

"Your left ankle's twisted, and your right's only sprained. Either way, you shouldn't try to walk."

Avatar picked me up. "Good to have you back, Little Sister."

I grinned at her. "Good to _be_ back, Big Sister."

Lan walked up next to Avatar as we went back to the truck. "So do you remember what happened while you had amnesia?"

"Uh…" I cocked my head. "Not very well. I remember today clearly, but everything before it is a little hazy. I remember information clearly, though. Hence the reason I know about Duo."

"It looks like you'll be sitting out the rest of saving humanity," Famous told me.

"Sit it out?" I tried to sit up in Avatar's arms. "No way! Get me some hospital tape and I'll be back in it! I've got to see this to its end!"

And Avatar laughed. "She's back to normal!"

* * *

><p>Anyways, they really did keep me out of one incident: Dark Megaman's deletion. But when parts of the world started disappearing, I taped up my ankles and went straight to Doctor Hikari. "Avatar and I need a Synchro Chip."<p>

"Will, you're not fit enough for this!"

"Sir, I would like this to be the last time I do anything purely reckless." I somehow managed to sound dead-serious with that sentence, which was a good thing, because I truly did mean it.

Doctor Hikari studied me for a long time. Then he pointed me into the box, tossing me a chip. "Only if it works, Will."

"Will," Avatar called up to me, "your current state will slow you down; you realize that, right?"

"Yeah, but with your already-enhanced speed, it won't be too noticeable. You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No; I want to do this, and I know you feel like you have to. Just curious, though, _why_ do you feel like you have to?"

"At the risk of sounding completely cheesy," I looked at my PET while the Dimensional Box was activated, "it's because if everything goes south, I want to be by Raika's side."

"Thought so; and I can't blame you, considering I'm thinking of Searchman."

"Enough chitchat," Doctor Hikari called to us through the radio, "It's make or break time."

"Right!" I slammed the chip in, speaking the words I'd been longing to say for months, even when I couldn't remember that I wanted to say them. "Synchro Chip in and download!"


	12. Final Battle!

**_Final Battle!_**

* * *

><p><strong>Lan<strong>

We set off towards the army of Asteroid Navis. Will caught up with us on a bike that frankly looked so old and beat-up it could have been an antique!

**Will**

Okay, okay, technically that bike was too small for me and I hadn't used it since I got my roller blades. But since my wheels broke, I had to use it.

Anyways, I surprised them all when I Cross-Fused! My ankles did slow me down a little, but it wasn't noticeable.

* * *

><p>It's not clear to me even to this day what happened to lead up to this, but we ended up floating in outer space and staring at Doctor Regal, who was laying down on his face.<p>

Chaud walked over to him. I suddenly had a sense of foreboding. "Um, Chaud, don't touch him…"

Too late. He rolled the guy over, and Regal's face was a skull! Our enemy was, without a doubt, very dead.

But then we saw the world disappearing. I have very little memory of what happened concerning Duo. I remember my ankles giving out for good, and he separated us from our Navis. Then Baryl offered himself to the gigantic Navi. He suggested that Duo absorb him and Colonel, so that Duo could understand Cross-Fusion, and in return Duo should return the Earth to normal. Lan didn't want him going through with that, but Megaman wouldn't let him try to interfere – especially since Duo accepted those terms.

* * *

><p>A lot of bright light shone in our faces, and we were returned to a restored Earth. And…I ended up sitting down, because my ankles started hurting really bad.<p>

Lan got a PET call from Baryl, saying he was okay!

I pumped my fists in the air. "Yay! …I want a triple-chocolate sundae."

Bonus! I got everybody, _everybody_, to laugh!

"And…a wheelchair." Seriously, my bike was wrecked, too.

Raika picked me up and surprised me by asking me in front of everybody: "Will you marry me, Wilhelmina?"

_I guess _he_ was thinking about stuff he'd regret not doing if the world ended back there, too._

I decided not to answer with words: instead I looped my arms around his neck and kissed him in front of everybody.

_Guess I'm still the same reckless ol' Will!_


End file.
